Goodyear 2Q earnings beat Wall Street forecast

CLEVELAND (AP) - The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.'s second-quarter earnings more than doubled as it sold more tires worldwide, led by a 4 percent increase in Latin America, the company reported Tuesday.

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.'s second-quarter earnings more than doubled as it sold more tires worldwide, led by a 4 percent increase in Latin America, the company reported Tuesday.

Shares rose 12 percent to $19.06, the biggest gain in the S&P 500.

Goodyear earned $181 million, or 67 cents per share, on revenue of $4.89 billion, down 5 percent, in the second quarter, compared with April-June 2012 net income of $85 million, or 33 cents per share, on revenue of $5.15 billion.

After one-time charges, Goodyear earned 76 cents, beating the FactSet estimate of 48 cents per share. Revenue had been forecast at $4.88 billion.

Goodyear sold 1 percent more tires in the second quarter and had record operating income for any quarter in its North America and Asia-Pacific regions. Segment operating income rose from $58 million to $82 million in Latin America and from $71 million to $91 million in Asia-Pacific.

In Latin America, sales rose 6 percent to $531 million, led by a 9 percent increase in replacement tire shipments.

Chairman and CEO Richard Kramer said the company was well-equipped to deal with political and economic volatility in the region. "The Latin America market remains a key growth market for us," he told analysts in a conference call.

"We continue to invest in the region and introduce new products to support the growth of premium tires in our well-established distribution network."

In Goodyear's core North American market, sales dropped 10 percent but segment operating income rose from $188 million to $204 million, up 9 percent from the second quarter of 2012 and helped by a focus on higher-end tires.

Kramer said the company's first-half performance made it confident that its global segment operating income for the full year would be about $1.5 billion, at the high end of its previously announced range of $1.4 billion to $1.5 billion.

For the six-month period, Goodyear earned $206 million, or 79 cents per share, on revenues of $9.7 billion, compared with six-month 2012 earnings of $73 million, or 30 cents per share, on revenues of $10.6 billion.

The Akron-based company and United Steelworkers reached a tentative agreement for workers at six plants Saturday night, avoiding a strike just hours before a deadline.

No details were disclosed Monday pending ratification votes by the union. Union members struck in 2006 for three months.

Kramer told analysts he wouldn't discuss the agreement until after the ratification votes but indicated the deal would help the company's competitive position.

"We believe we will be able to sustain our competitive position and be ready to take advantage of opportunities when demand begins to accelerate," he said.